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Finally, an Old Post Office Deal Goes Forward

CHICAGO—Bill Davies has seen several deals fall through, but his latest, with NY-based 601W Cos., has gotten a tentative thumbs-up from the city.

By Brian J. Rogal | brianjrogal | | Updated on April 14, 2016

 

chi-postoffice_5 The Old Post Office has sat vacant since the mid-1990s, but the city seems inclined to accept the latest plan.
CHICAGO—The controversy over the fate of Chicago’s giant Old Post Office has taken yet another turn. This week, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Planning and Development Commissioner David Reifman said they reached what they called “a tentative settlement” with New York-based investment group 601W Cos. that establishes a strict timeframe for its purchase and redevelopment of long-abandoned hulk that arches over the Eisenhower Expressway. In February, after several proposals from Bill Davies’ International Property Developers North America to redevelop the iconic 2.5 million square foot property fell through, the Mayor said the city would take control of the building through eminent domain. The city issued an RFP in March, and one day later Davies announced the sale to 601W. A city official then told GlobeSt.com that the RFP was still a go, and encouraged 601W to put in its own proposal. But Richard Sykes , a consultant with Savills UK that represented IPDNA, was quite confident that the city would respect the new contract, regardless of the years of failure. That forecast now looks pretty solid. As Sykes predicted, the Mayor now says that “the buyer appears to be an experienced commercial property owner with the expertise and financial capacity to meet our goals for the building, so we’re providing strict terms and conditions for a purchase to close in a timely fashion and a redevelopment plan that’s satisfactory to the city to move forward.”    The tentative settlement includes a deadline of June 1, 2016, for the purchaser to complete its acquisition of the structure and adjacent properties currently owned by IPDNA. City officials also said they “would also require approval of a formal redevelopment plan, including a budget, economic disclosures and financing arrangements, as well as uses, site plans, timelines, phasing and related development and construction details.”   “The sooner we conclude this process the sooner we can create thousands of jobs and generate economic opportunities for residents throughout Chicago, while restoring an iconic gateway to the city,” the Mayor said.

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